Pennsylvania Nurses March during National Nurses Week

Group protests staffing decisions, ‘unsafe’ working conditions

Upset over what they called unsafe and unfair working conditions, nurses at Pottstown Hospital in Pennsylvania marched in solidarity last Tuesday.

“Decisions are being made in board rooms that are so detached from the bedside care that we provide,” said nurse Mary Ellen Adamson.

One chief complaint was the dangerous patient-staff ratios, with too many patients assigned to each nurse at any one time.

“When staffing is at the point where patient safety is in jeopardy, we had to do something,” said nurse Bernie Moser.

The group has been at a stalemate in their discussions with Tower Health since that group acquired the hospital in early 2017. They continue to work to secure a contract with fair staffing practices and salaries.

“It’s important that all nurses stick together to protect our profession,” said Adamson.

The nurses also demand a re-opening of the pediatric unit closed by Community Health System, the group that owned the facility before Tower. They also suggested the hospital utilize some of the $25 million in profit from both 2016 and 2017 to restore the nearly $1 million in taxes that was lost when the hospital was taken off the tax rolls recently.